Sustained heterozygosity across a self-incompatibility locus in an inbred ascidian.

Because self-incompatibility loci are maintained heterozygous and recombination within self-incompatibility loci would be disadvantageous, self-incompatibility loci are thought to contribute to structural and functional differentiation of chromosomes. Although the hermaphrodite chordate, Ciona intestinalis, has two self-incompatibility genes, this incompatibility system is incomplete and self-fertilization occurs under laboratory conditions. Here, we established an inbred strain of C. intestinalis by repeated self-fertilization. Decoding genome sequences of sibling animals of this strain identified a 2.4-Mbheterozygous region on chromosome 7. A self-incompatibility gene, Themis-B, was encoded within this region. This observation implied that this self-incompatibility locus and the linkage disequilibrium of its flanking region contribute to the formation of the 2.4-Mb heterozygous region, probably through recombination suppression. We showed that different individuals in natural populations had different numbers and different combinations of Themis-B variants, and that the rate of self-fertilization varied among these animals. Our result explains why self-fertilization occurs under laboratory conditions. It also supports the concept that the Themis-B locus is preferentially retained heterozygous in the inbred line and contributes to the formation of the 2.4-Mb heterozygous region. High structural variations might suppress recombination, and this long heterozygous region might represent a preliminary stage of structural differentiation of chromosomes.

Germline transgenesis of the chordate Ciona intestinalis with hyperactive variants of sleeping beauty transposable element.

BACKGROUND: Transposon-mediated transgenesis is an excellent method for creating stable transgenic lines and insertional mutants. In the chordate Ciona intestinalis, Minos is the only transposon that has been used as the tool for germline transformation. Adding another transposon system in this organism enables us to conduct genetic techniques which can only be realized with the use of two transposons. RESULTS: In the present study, we found that another Tc1/mariner superfamily transposon, sleeping beauty (SB), retains sufficient activity for germline transformation of C. intestinalis. SB shows efficiencies of germline transformation, insertion into gene coding regions, and enhancer detection comparable to those of Minos. We have developed a system for the remobilization of SB copies in the C. intestinalis genome by using transgenic lines expressing SB transposase in the germ cells. With this system, we examined the manner of SB mobilization in the C. intestinalis genome. SB shows intrachromosomal transposition more frequently than Minos. CONCLUSIONS: SB-based germline transformation and the establishment of a new method that uses its frequent intrachromosomal transposition will result in breakthroughs in genetic approaches that use C. intestinalis together with Minos.

Ascidians as excellent chordate models for studying the development of the nervous system during embryogenesis and metamorphosis.

The swimming larvae of the chordate ascidians possess a dorsal hollowed central nervous system (CNS), which is homologous to that of vertebrates. Despite the homology, the ascidian CNS consists of a countable number of cells. The simple nervous system of ascidians provides an excellent experimental system to study the developmental mechanisms of the chordate nervous system. The neural fate of the cells consisting of the ascidian CNS is determined in both autonomous and non-autonomous fashion during the cleavage stage. The ascidian neural plate performs the morphogenetic movement of neural tube closure that resembles that in vertebrate neural tube formation. Following neurulation, the CNS is separated into five distinct regions, whose homology with the regions of vertebrate CNS has been discussed. Following their larval stage, ascidians undergo a metamorphosis and become sessile adults. The metamorphosis is completed quickly, and therefore the metamorphosis of ascidians is a good experimental system to observe the reorganization of the CNS during metamorphosis. A recent study has shown that the major parts of the larval CNS remain after the metamorphosis to form the adult CNS. In contrast to such a conserved manner of CNS reorganization, most larval neurons disappear during metamorphosis. The larval glial cells in the CNS are the major source for the formation of the adult CNS, and some of the glial cells produce adult neurons.

Large-scale infection of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis by the gregarine Lankesteria ascidiae in an inland culture system.

An important way to keep transgenic and mutant lines of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, a model system for e.g. genetic functions, in laboratories is via culturing systems. Here we report a disease of C. intestinalis observed in an inland culturing system. The disease, called 'long feces syndrome,' is expressed in affected animals by the following characteristic symptoms of the digestive system: (1) excretion of long and thin feces, (2) pale color of the stomach, and (3) congestion of the digestive tube by digested material. Severely diseased animals usually die within a week after the first symptoms occur, implying a high risk of this disease for ascidian culturing systems. The digestive tubes of the diseased animals are occupied by the gregarine apicomplexan parasite Lankesteria ascidiae, suggesting that large-scale infection by this parasite is the cause of long feces syndrome.

Identification of genes downstream of nodal in the Ciona intestinalis embryo.

Nodal, a growth factor belonging to the TGF-beta superfamily, is required for the formation of the neural tube in Ciona intestinalis. Previous studies have revealed many genes whose expression is controlled by Nodal in the Ciona embryo; however, all of them encode transcription factors and signaling molecules. In the present study, we identified five genes upregulated or downregulated by the overexpression of Nodal in embryos of C. intestinalis. The upregulated genes included those encoding type IV collagen 1/3/5, laminin-alpha5, and Prickle. The downregulated genes included those encoding glypican and delta1-protocadherln-like. Many of these genes were expressed in the neural plate at the late gastrula stage. The present study revealed candidate effector genes that directly regulate, in response to Nodal, the morphogenesis of the neural tube in Ciona intestinalis.

GABA-Induced GnRH Release Triggers Chordate Metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis, a widespread life history strategy in metazoans, allows dispersal and use of different ecological niches through a dramatic body change from a larval stage [1, 2]. Despite its conservation and importance, the molecular mechanisms underlying its initiation and progression have been characterized in only a few animal models. In this study, through pharmacological and gene functional analyses, we identified neurotransmitters responsible for metamorphosis of the ascidian Ciona. Ciona metamorphosis converts swimming tadpole larvae into vase-like, sessile adults. Here, we show that the neurotransmitter GABA is a key regulator of metamorphosis. We found that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a downstream neuropeptide of GABA. Although GABA is generally thought of as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, we found that it positively regulates secretion of GnRH through the metabotropic GABA receptor during Ciona metamorphosis. GnRH is necessary for reproductive maturation in vertebrates, and GABA is an important excitatory regulator of GnRH in the hypothalamus during puberty [3, 4]. Our findings reveal another role of the GABA-GnRH axis in the regulation of post-embryonic development in chordates.

Transposon-mediated targeted and specific knockdown of maternally expressed transcripts in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.

Maternal mRNAs play crucial roles during early embryogenesis of ascidians, but their functions are largely unknown. In this study, we developed a new method to specifically knockdown maternal mRNAs in Ciona intestinalis using transposon-mediated transgenesis. We found that GFP expression is epigenetically silenced in Ciona intestinalis oocytes and eggs, and this epigenetic silencing of GFP was used to develop the knockdown method. When the 5' upstream promoter and 5' untranslated region (UTR) of a maternal gene are used to drive GFP in eggs, the maternal gene is specifically knocked down together with GFP. The 5' UTR of the maternal gene is the major element that determines the target gene silencing. Zygotic transcription of the target gene is unaffected, suggesting that the observed phenotypes specifically reflect the maternal function of the gene. This new method can provide breakthroughs in studying the functions of maternal mRNAs.

Nodal regulates neural tube formation in the Ciona intestinalis embryo.

Overexpression of a lefty orthologue, Ci-lefty, caused a failure of neural tube closure in the protochordate ascidian Ciona intestinalis. The body bent dorsally, and anterior-posterior elongation was inhibited. A similar phenotype was observed in embryos treated with SB431542, an inhibitor of Nodal receptors, suggesting that Ci-Lefty antagonized Nodal signaling as reported in other deuterostome species. Overexpression of Ci-nodal also resulted in a similar phenotype, suggesting that a correct quantity and/or a spatial restriction of Nodal signaling are important for the neural tube to form. In addition to known Ci-Nodal target genes, orthologues of Zic (Ci-ZicL) and cdx (Ci-cdx) were activated by Ci-Nodal. Expression of a dominant negative Ci-cdx caused defects in neural tube formation similar to those obtained on treatment with SB431542 or overexpression of Ci-lefty. A regulatory cascade composed of Ci-Nodal, Ci-ZicL, and Ci-Cdx may play an important role in neural tube formation in the Ciona embryo.